CHICAGO, Ill. – North Park women's volleyball faced off against the North Central College Cardinals and won, 3-1 (22-25, 26-24, 25-18, 25-21). The Vikings and Cardinals are expected to be the top two teams in the CCIW this season, as both have made appearances in the AVCA National Top 25 Poll.

The first set was a head-to-head duel ending 22-25 in favor of the Cardinals. North Central would post their best attacking percentage of .243 in the set, alongside 13 kills in their only win of the night.

The Vikings went on to sweep the next three sets ending in scores of 26-24, 25-18, 25-21.  Set three featured 16 kills and just six errors to the tune of a .250 hitting percentage, North Park's best of the evening.

Sophomore middle blocker Shamyia Collier and junior outside hitter Adriana Rodriguez led the team with 13 kills each. Collier's 13 represents a new 2023 high. Junior opposite hitter Kharlie Simeona-French also neared a season high with 10 kills, one short of tying a 2023 best.  

Up front, junior middle blocker Rhianna Huebner, Simeona-French, and freshman middle blocker Meg Rothermel all established new career highs with 6, 5, and 5 blocks, respectively.

Senior setter Christina Gatta tallied 44 assists tonight, bringing her season total to a CCIW-leading 295. Finally, senior setter Jenna Jones tied a career high and led all servers with four aces.

Checking the Record Book

• Tonight's 12 team blocks for North Park ties for second-best all-time in both the overall category and the four-sets-match category.
• Huebner's six blocks is tied for fifth-most all-time overall and fourth-most in a four-set match.
• Simeona-French and Rothermel each had five blocks, which ties them both for seventh all-time in a four-set match.

What's Next? 

North Park (7-1, 1-0 CCIW) heads to Kenosha, Wisconsin this weekend for a pair of matches. The Vikings will face off with DePauw University at 1:00 pm on Saturday September 16 before a match with Edgewood right after.